You can't buy that

[swash001]

I've often thought that "permanent" magic items should not be as readily available at the marketplace as potions and wands, but have been unable to create simple guidelines to reflect this. I also believe that for those who agree with me, an overall guideline is needed rather than the nightmare of making a listing for each and every possible item in the game.

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One of the plot devices that I miss in D&D is the "quest for the magic sword" - the PC's go somewhere special to get a magic item that will defeat the big bad guy.

This plot is certainly do-able at higher levels, where the magic item can be unique. But the idea of a group of players going on a quest for an "ordinary" giant-bane sword is silly in a game where characters can just go buy one at a local city.

 

[Nifft]

There's two ways around this:

1/ House rule how wealth works. This is the path that Sepulchurve and many other well-respected high-to-Epic level DMs have taken. It's important that you have players who trust you and are not cheese weasels.

2/ Don't have big cities. Wealth-by-population tables preclude many big magic items in small settlements in the RAW. Just tell your players that, if a lot of people lived in one wide-open place, they might as well put up a sign reading "Free Dragon Lunch Buffet". I'd expect population to be lower in a world where humans aren't the top of the food chain...

-- N

 

[Felnar]

i agree that powerful magic items shouldnt be bought on every street corner.

but arent all the monster CR's based on the PCs having a certain level of wealth and access to magic items?

- Felnar

 

[SteelDraco]

i agree that powerful magic items shouldnt be bought on every street corner.

but arent all the monster CR's based on the PCs having a certain level of wealth and access to magic items?

- Felnar

Yeah, they are. It makes things kind of difficult to run if you start to get too far away from the expected wealth levels, in either direction. The game expects PCs to have a good number of magic items, and those magic items pretty drastically increase the power level.

I've come up with a few ways to fix the "X GP = any magic item of X value" problem in my campaigns.

First and foremost, just because magic items have a value, doesn't mean that it's an easy market to deal with. Magic item shops - at least ones with permanent items - IMC are rare and usually pretty small. They're almost always associated with a mage guild of some kind, and tend to look a lot more favorably on members than outsiders. They don't have a big selection of items on hand - usually just basic stuff, like Rings of Protection, Cloaks of Resistance, and the minor stat boosting items. I'll usually throw a few special items in there as well, either plot hooks or things I just think might be interesting. That creates an attitude of "What do they have?" rather than "I want to go find XYZ."

If a PC is set on finding XYZ, then I roll a Luck roll for them to myself, and have them roll Gather Information to see if they can find one. Depending on my Luck roll (to see if there even IS one of what they're looking for available in town, with better rolls being required for more obscure items or smaller towns) and their Gather Information check, I'll tell them if they're able to find it or not. I might roleplay out the transaction, or not, depending on how things are going and if I have anything planned with it.

If they want to have something made, they can. They need to find someone who can do the work, and there are additional fees outside of the actual item's cost. They may very well have to go find special components, depending on the power level of the item they want made and where they're at. Just because you need 6,000 gp worth of materials to make an item doesn't, IMO, necessarily mean that the corner store has all of them. This allows me to do the Find the Wierd Component quest, should I want to.

 

[Crothian]

I've often thought that "permanent" magic items should not be as readily available at the marketplace as potions and wands, but have been unable to create simple guidelines to reflect this. I also believe that for those who agree with me, an overall guideline is needed rather than the nightmare of making a listing for each and every possible item in the game.

The simpliest way is not have them for sale. Don't assume that just becasue the cost is withing the money listing of a city that it is availible. You can have nobles on awaiting list for permantent magical items that they want to equp their own guards and people. You are the DM so you don't need to come up with rules for this, just say it is this way.

 

[Bront]

IN our campaigns, general magic items are found, or nothing. Occasionaly we've been able to buy minor things like potions and scrolls, but generaly magic item are not things you go to the store.

If people find them at appropriate levels, it works just as well as being able to buy them.

 

[Storyteller01]

Given the xp cost for making items, my campaign's magic items revolve around the 'by special order, 50% up front' policy'. If you want a specific item, you'll have to find someone to make it. Not easy, given that most NPC's seem to retire/settle down at about 9th to 12th level (just an observation).

You can also expect a decent mark-up (average is 50%, but diplomacy or haggling skills can lower it). If the players choose to find the components for the creator, that will also reduce the mark-up. Players will still expect to pay extra for the crafters trouble (2 to 3 times the xp cost).

The only real change to this is if the wizard is part of a guild or organization. They can expect to find common scrolls at a decent price, as long as they're in good standing.

Might be harsh, but I've always thought that xp loss in any form is rather painful...